NCAAF: Polls top 25 & the last of the BCS era

I don't see (16) Oklahoma moving down in the rankings, even if the Sooners' win wasn't pretty by most standards. The only reason the Sooners get a boost in the rankings is due to the teams ahead of them losing.

(14) Notre Dame will drop a few into the second half of the top 25. (17) Michigan will get close to the top ten if not in it.

(15) Texas will drop as far as into the 20's, possibly out of the top 25 altogether.

USC is trailing Washington State 10-7 w/ the clock winding down in the 4th. Maybe it's best that I'm not watching that game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by projectdna

... and USC drops one to Washington State. at home.

I just needed to get that off my chest.

and here we have it, Sooners are fortunate a couple of teams dropped out of rank. Was suprised at the longhorns performance after what they were intially ranked, but I always love a good shake up in the polls the first round of games.

looks like I was almost spot-on, though I probably shouldn't quit my day job to be a college football ranking analyst.

Michigan not cracking the top 10 actually surprises me, though it could be attributed to two reasons:
1. aside from Georgia and Clemson, no other top 10 teams have faced any significant challenges and have looked halfway decent early on. voters aren't going to ding top 10 teams that win.
2. Notre Dame might be having a down year, and Michigan's win wasn't as impressive to the voters.

not a bad 1st weeker Virginia has exposed some weakness on the Oregon front, let's see if future capable matches paid attention

Quote:

Originally Posted by projectdna

Pac-12 is going to face some serious challenges next week:

(16) UCLA @ (23) Nebraska - a contrast of styles
Fresno State @ Colorado - what's better: top of the Mountain West, or bottom of the Pac-12?
(19) Washington @ Illinois - mediocre meets mediocre. there must be a win, even if it's... mediocre.
(4) Ohio State @ Cal - Braxton Miller hurt improves Cal's chances of winning. Cal will need this as a statement win and set a tone for the rest of the season.
Wisconsin @ Arizona State - the classic "immovable object vs. irresistible force" discussion: ASU's Will Sutton vs. Wisconsin's classic Big 10-style O-line.
Boston College @ USC - only because you're really not sure which team is going to show up.
Southern Utah @ Washington State - only because you're... uh, see above.
Oregon State @ Utah - another conference match-up. this is more evenly matched than most may think.

on the other hand, these games should be easily in favor of the Pac-12 teams

I don't see Tennessee doing too great this year, They by far have the toughest schedule I've seen for a non ranked team.

Quote:

Originally Posted by projectdna

looks like I was almost spot-on, though I probably shouldn't quit my day job to be a college football ranking analyst.

Michigan not cracking the top 10 actually surprises me, though it could be attributed to two reasons:
1. aside from Georgia and Clemson, no other top 10 teams have faced any significant challenges and have looked halfway decent early on. voters aren't going to ding top 10 teams that win.
2. Notre Dame might be having a down year, and Michigan's win wasn't as impressive to the voters.

Can't wait for the Wolverines to square off against the Buckeyes, if both teams stay strong, it will be the one to watch

side note: *look for Bama to struggle a bit with the Aggies up tempo offense tactics, with the Tides DE Dalvin Tomlison out for the season on injury. Should still be a helluva game.

not a bad 1st weeker Virginia has exposed some weakness on the Oregon front, let's see if future capable matches paid attention

in the last few years, Oregon has managed to cough at least one conference game up. last year was Stanford, year before that was USC. The Pac-12 North is a two-horse race between Stanford and Oregon, but Oregon State and Washington are the dark horse teams to watch for.

Quote:

I don't see Tennessee doing too great this year, They by far have the toughest schedule I've seen for a non ranked team.

they play in the SEC. that's a curse all by itself.

Quote:

Can't wait for the Wolverines to square off against the Buckeyes, if both teams stay strong, it will be the one to watch

expect OSU-Michigan to have national title implications if both teams win out. problem is, you can't really write off conference play for both teams, even if the Big 10 has taken a few steps back as one of the premier conferences.

Quote:

side note: *look for Bama to struggle a bit with the Aggies up tempo offense tactics, with the Tides DE Dalvin Tomlison out for the season on injury. Should still be a helluva game.

I think Alabama has enough bodies on the D-line to keep the rotation fresh and ready to attack.

The game will come down to how Alabama contains Manziel. Does Alabama break out their entire repertoire of blitz backages to contain/pressure Manziel to throw while leaving the secondary on their own islands, or do they play zone to take away TA&M's receivers and force Manziel to scramble? Manziel has been pretty good as a dual-threat QB to give Alabama issues, and if Alabama can't solve the Manziel puzzle, they could be in for another long evening.

Whew! that was a tight one with Utah, but Oregon State pulled it off in OT 51-48!! - Defense needs work though..

Anyway, Pac-12 once again dominated against other conferences which I'm reveling in . Loved watching Nebraska deflate against UCLA saying they were going to get revenge. ASU pulled it off against Wisconsin on the final play, and the only loss so far this week (Colorado game postponed) was Cal to Ohio State and Utah (but that's conference play).

Whew! that was a tight one with Utah, but Oregon State pulled it off in OT 51-48!! - Defense needs work though..

Anyway, Pac-12 once again dominated against other conferences which I'm reveling in . Loved watching Nebraska deflate against UCLA saying they were going to get revenge. ASU pulled it off against Wisconsin on the final play, and the only loss so far this week (Colorado game postponed) was Cal to Ohio State and Utah (but that's conference play).

Oregon State-Utah: came down to who could score last. both teams were pretty much evenly matched, and both will be dangerous in conference play moving forward.

UCLA: talk about sleepwalking through the first half and waking up in time. Otherwise it would've been a pasting in favor of Nebraska. Credit has to go to UCLA for roaring from 21 down to win on the road. definitely a contender in the Pac-12 South - as long as they don't sleepwalk through first halves.

Stanford: With all the spotlight on Alabama, Oregon, and Ohio State, Stanford is quietly going about its business.

USC: The defense has been lights-out dominant in the first three games. Can the offense find some consistency/sustainability?

Oregon: haven't really seen any challenges, though at the rate they score, it may not matter.

Washington: another team quietly going about its business. may just play spoiler to the Oregon-Stanford power duo in the Pac-12 north.

Cal: can't fault Cal for dropping one to Ohio State, especially after getting blitzed before the first quarter was over. unfortunately, they'll have to face another team that can drop 50+ on them later on (see: Oregon).

Arizona State: say what you will about the win against Wisconsin ("odd" and "sloppy" come to mind), but it was definitely not the way to impress, given their (now formerly) ranked Big 10 opponent. ASU could be in trouble with more high-powered offenses if Wisconsin's pedestrian offense proved to be troublesome.

Arizona: over by the half against a patsy team. not really an indication of anything, especially against a Conference USA opponent.

Some nice shakeups in the ranks today. And wow@Florida St! And uh oh @ Oregon, tsk tsk...but I am sure Oregon will wind up on top again, due to more ranked teams they play versus Florida St'. I really want to have a Bama and Oregon showdown.

this week 8 has been one of the most change in ranks I have ever seen due to all the upsets. Probably the best of the BCS yet!

Baylor has an explosive offense and pretty good defense. They really haven't been tested this season, so it's hard to tell how good they really are. OU's defense will be by far the best they have faced thus far. If we can establish the run and control the clock, I think we have a chance. If not, we lose by double digits.

Arizona State doesn't travel well. it's either the home cooking or something in the water.

Michigan is in all sorts of trouble, and Notre Dame is suffering from NCG hangover.

Georgia has fallen back to SEC mediocrity. And Aaron Murray's Heisman campaign didn't even last until mid-October.

Florida is keeping Georgia company, since the Gators too look all sorts of out-of-whack.

in the BCS race, Ohio State, Baylor, and Florida State all jockeying for the right to play Alabama, along with a few one-loss teams praying to the BCS gods that those four unbeaten no longer stay that way.

Jameis for Heisman, anyone? seems like pre-season Heisman hopefuls have all but just about written it off (Manziel, Clowney, Murray, Lee).

Speaking of Ohio State, is anyone convinced they can leapfrog Florida State?

Or how about an undefeated Baylor, aka Oregon of the Southwest?

Or are we so sick of the BCS that we can't wait for next season's post-season play-offs?